You install vCenter Server, like any other network server, on a machine with a fixed IP address and well-known DNS name, so that clients can reliably access the service.

Assign a static IP address and host name to the Windows server that will host the vCenter Server system. This IP address must have a valid (internal) domain name system (DNS) registration.

Ensure that the ESXi host management interface has a valid DNS resolution from the vCenter Server and all vSphere Clients and vSphere Web Clients. Ensure that the vCenter Server has a valid DNS resolution from all ESXi hosts and all vSphere Clients and vSphere Web Clients.

Ensure that the vCenter Server is installed on a machine that has a resolvable fully qualified domain name (FQDN). To check that the FQDN is resolvable, type nslookup your_vCenter_Server_fqdn at a command line prompt. If the FQDN is resolvable, the nslookup command returns the IP and name of the domain controller machine.

Ensure that DNS reverse lookup returns a fully qualified domain name when queried with the IP address of the vCenter Server. When you install vCenter Server, the installation of the web server component that supports the vSphere Client fails if the installer cannot look up the fully qualified domain name of the vCenter Server from its IP address. Reverse lookup is implemented using PTR records. To create a PTR record, see the documentation for your vCenter Server host operating system.

If you use DHCP instead of a static IP address for vCenter Server, make sure that the vCenter Server computer name is updated in the domain name service (DNS). Ping the computer name to test the connection. For example, if the computer name is host-1.company.com, run the following command in the Windows command prompt: